Sycamore Pool – Chico CA

City:
Chico, CA

Site Type:
Parks and Recreation, Swimming Pools

New Deal Agencies:
Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Quality of Information:
Very Good

Marked:
No

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

Sycamore Pool is a large, beautiful, outdoor swimming facility built on Big Chico Creek at the One-Mile Recreation Area of Bidwell Park in Chico California.  Hence, the pool is also known as One-Mile Pool.

he creek was dammed by the city in the 1920s, but the pool was cemented and finished out by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the 1930s, as part of several WPA improvements to Bidwell Park.  

There are tile depth markers every six feet or so along the pool’s edge. The lifeguard chairs look original, but that is uncertain. A bridge across the dam was built later using state Land & Water Conservation Funds.

Source notes

William R. Lawson. "Achievements, Federal Works Agency. Work Projects Administration, Northern California." 1940: 43.

https://gregvanderlaan.com/happyboy.aspx

Ken Smith, "Butte County gets a New Deal," Chico News & Review, May 31, 2012. https://www.newsreview.com/chico/content?oid=6160692

Site originally submitted by Gray Brechin on October 23, 2010.
Additional contributions by Greg Venderlaan, Richard A Walker.

Location Info


Bidwell Park
Chico, CA 95928
Butte County

Coordinates: 39.735542, -121.82989

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4 comments on “Sycamore Pool – Chico CA

  1. The source for this picture is at a website that is no longer active. Three Pictures of the pool are at: Chico, CA Pool

    I went to Chico again this summer and swam. Thanks WPA… It’s a great pool.

  2. The old picture has been replaced by a series I took in the Winter of 2018. What a gorgeous pool! I asked a couple of local women if they knew the provenance of the pool, which is unmarked, and they were delighted to discover it was from the New Deal (one of them had learned about the New Deal in school; the other had never heard of it).

  3. Lesley Green

    My 11 year old grandson swam the length of Sycamore pool on 6/23.,
    We are so proud of him. Excellent swimmer.
    I just can’t find any information on the length of the pool.

  4. Captainkiera

    The pool is 500 ft in length

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Contribute to this Site

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Submit More Information or Photographs for this New Deal Site

4 comments on “Sycamore Pool – Chico CA

  1. The source for this picture is at a website that is no longer active. Three Pictures of the pool are at: Chico, CA Pool

    I went to Chico again this summer and swam. Thanks WPA… It’s a great pool.

  2. The old picture has been replaced by a series I took in the Winter of 2018. What a gorgeous pool! I asked a couple of local women if they knew the provenance of the pool, which is unmarked, and they were delighted to discover it was from the New Deal (one of them had learned about the New Deal in school; the other had never heard of it).

  3. Lesley Green

    My 11 year old grandson swam the length of Sycamore pool on 6/23.,
    We are so proud of him. Excellent swimmer.
    I just can’t find any information on the length of the pool.

  4. Captainkiera

    The pool is 500 ft in length

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

Your email address will not be published, shared, or sold.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.